This invention relates to a waterproof deck for a building structure having a subfloor and a concrete floor, whereby water that seeps through the concrete flooring toward the subfloor can be drained from the deck without contacting the subfloor or the adjacent walls of the building structure.
Multiple dwellings, such as apartments or condominiums, frequently are built with outdoor decks that extend between a pair of side walls and a back wall, with a free edge opening away from the building structure.
The decks typically are made with a subfloor mounted on supporting joists, with the joists supported by the side walls of the building or by vertical posts. A drip edge strip that is L-shaped in cross section can be placed about the free edge of the subfloor, and a waterproof sheet spread across and covering the subfloor and upper surface of the drip edge. A T-bar strip having its stem is mounted on the drip edge and its cross head forms an exterior wall for the concrete that is poured onto the subfloor to form the concrete floor.
While the above noted arrangement of constructing concrete decks has become common in the art, a problem existed with regard to water seepage through the concrete floor to the waterproof sheet. Water would accumulate on the waterproof sheet and would eventually move into the side walls of the building structure, or into the wooden subfloor, causing structural damage to the building and/or the subfloor.
One of the ways to solve the accumulation of water on the waterproof sheet is to allow the water to escape from the waterproof sheet at the open edge of the deck. Since it is undesirable to form drain holes in the waterproof sheet, some of the waterproof decks have utilized drain passages at the free end of the deck, allowing the water to seep to the free end and flow over the distal edge of the deck. In order to facilitate this arrangement, the waterproof sheet would be extended onto the drip edge strip, and the water could pass between the waterproof sheet and the T-bar strip and over the drip edge strip.
As taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,719, in order to facilitate this drainage arrangement, spacers can be placed under the stem of the T-bar strip and on the waterproof sheet, with the spacers being spaced apart from one another to form drain passages between the T-bar strip and the waterproof sheet. While this arrangement of drain passages has been successful in relieving the accumulation of water on the waterproof sheet of a concrete deck, additional planning and labor is required to build the structure. For example, the spacers typically would be relatively small squares of inert material that are placed by hand on the waterproof sheet, and then the T-bar strip would be placed on the spacers. Preferably, a connector, such as a nail, would be driven through the stem of the T-bar, through the spacer, and through the underlying edge of the waterproof sheet and the drip edge into the subfloor. With this arrangement, it is not unusual that the spacers are improperly placed and/or the connector is not properly driven through the spacers to hold them in place. Also, the process by which the craftsman places the spacers requires additional attention and time, and there are instances when the spacers are not readily available at the job site.
Therefore, it can be seen that it would be desirable to have a waterproof deck structure that does not require spacers to be added to the deck, thereby eliminating the expense, time and inconvenience associated with the use of the spacers.
Another problem associated with waterproof decks is shielding the side walls of the building structure from the water that accumulates on and runs off the deck. Typically, flashing is positioned at the junction between the side wall and the deck so as to channel the water away from the side wall. However, the side walls typically are vulnerable at the intersection of the free edge of the deck with the side wall, where the shape of the deck structure and flashing tends to lose control over the flowing water, particularly wind driven water, that tends to find its way into the building structure.
While flashing can be placed at this intersection, it is difficult to form the flashing so that it corresponds in shape to the end of the T-bar strip, so as to shield the wall of the building structure from the flow of water at or about the end portions of the T-bar strip.
Accordingly, it can be seen that it would be desirable to provide an improved flashing structure for use in combination with a T-bar strip at the ends of the free edge of the waterproof deck.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved waterproof deck for a building structure that is more expedient and less expensive to construct.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved T-bar strip for use in a waterproof deck of a building structure.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved T-bar strip for a waterproof deck, wherein the stem of the T-bar strip is formed with protuberances at intervals along its length that are utilized to stand the T-bar strip away from the next adjacent layer of material, such as the waterproof sheet and/or drip edge strip and form drain spaces beneath the stem of the T-bar strip.
Another object of this invention is to provide flashing for use with a T-bar strip, to be placed at the ends of the T-bar strip that join to an adjacent wall, for improving the exclusion of water seepage into the walls.